Discovering Home
by Rhionae
Summary: Escaping from certain death often requires taking chances. On this occasion, Naruto and Sasuke are drawn into the past, but they didn't come alone.
1. Chapter 1

Don't own Naruto...

* * *

Discovering Home 

By Rhionae

* * *

The brief surge in chakra had been unexpected, of low intensity, and thus easily missed - by anyone except Uchiha Itachi or Hatake Kakashi. They broke off what had been an impromptu staring contest to gaze towards the source of the disturbance. Without a word, both took to their heels, replacing their masks as they went, running swiftly together through the rain, formation as tight as it had been for the mission they had just completed. 

Upon arriving at the training ground, they paused in the shadows to assess the situation. Several bodies were visible lying facedown on top of one another near the posts in the centre of the clearing. None were moving, although the faint chakra he sensed indicated that at least one was still alive. Scanning the ground presented him with a puzzle: while there were indications of people leaving the area, there was nothing to indicate how the three bodies had reached their current position.

A soft murmur beside him led to a puff of smoke, and the appearance of one of Kakashi's nin-dogs. Pakkun, as Kakashi named him, was sent chasing down the trail leading away from the scene, leaving the two ninja to deal with the tangle of limbs that remained. Itachi approached with kunai drawn, but the only surprise was the small emblem sewn onto the back of the figure lying closest towards him.

Uchiha. The fan was unmistakeable. This man was one of his own clan, as no one else would dare to wear that symbol in Konoha. This simple fact increased the need for answers, as the Uchiha clan held low tolerance for attacks upon one of their own, Itachi's own father foremost amongst those who would demand retribution under the banner of justice.

Touching his fingers to the other's neck ascertained that he was alive: his pulse weak, but steady. Unable to identify the other Uchiha with his face obscured, Itachi moved an extraneous arm and rolled the other onto his back. Absorbing the refined features revealed with wide eyes, Itachi found himself considering the impossible. There was only one Uchiha he knew whose face matched that of the young man lying before him; but Sasuke was still only a child.

Glancing across to Kakashi, he found the older shinobi staring at him blankly, mask discarded. Casting his gaze down to the two other men who had formed the body pile, he found himself incredulously cataloguing the whisker-marked cheeks that should only have belonged to Sasuke's classmate, Uzumaki Naruto, and the single sharingan eye staring glassily up from a duplicate of Kakashi's face.

"You get to do the report for this one," Kakashi informed him mildly. "Since it appears that I'm dead."

* * *

Sandaime didn't agree with Kakashi's logic, so both of them ended up spending the next several hours in a secured ward at the hospital while the medics and the Hokage examined the trio in minute detail. Since they were handy anyway they had been seconded into guard duty, enforcing the restricted access that had been applied to all three. Sandaime had requested they remain maskless for this task, and the Hokage's will was law for a shinobi, despite Itachi's suspicions regarding his motives for the directive. Fortunately for their peace of mind, the second Kakashi's corpse had been removed to another room fairly early on. While Itachi was quite used to being around dead bodies, having created quite a few himself, there was something about guarding the corpse of the man you were currently working with that was fundamentally wrong - and there was no doubt in his mind that the corpse was truly Kakashi's. 

Every test that had been performed only made it more obvious that somehow the trio were exactly who they appeared to be. There were no detectable methods of concealment or disguise in use, and every expected mark and scar was in its place - including Uzumaki's distinctive seal, which Sandaime focussed on greatly - as well as many additional ones. Physically, the only major discrepancy as to their identities was the difference in age. That brought up all sorts of interesting questions, which would likely only be answered when one of the still-living pair regained their faculties. As Itachi gazed into dull, unseeing eyes of his apparently older little brother, he found the prospect decreasingly likely to happen anytime soon.

"We have to get some fluid into him or he will die," one of the medics was saying, waving his hands for emphasis. While Itachi recognised the risk - he had been the one to bind the wound originally, and had a fair idea of how much blood Sasuke had lost - he couldn't help but think the medic was being somewhat melodramatic. "His body is already in shock, if we don't treat him - "

"We can't treat him if he won't let us," another broke in darkly. He was glaring at the patient in question while cradling his right arm in his left.

Personally Itachi was rather impressed that Sasuke was able to ward off not only the medics but both ANBU as well. Admittedly they had held back, lest they do more damage than could be readily corrected, but Sasuke was only semi-conscious at best, his strength greatly reduced, his body seemingly reacting on instinct alone. He had known his little brother possessed potential to equal his own abilities, yet now he found himself revising his opinion.

Sasuke was quite possibly better than Itachi. The knowledge brought with it a curious combination of envy and vindication, as well as several bruises scattered strategically across his body. It would be an hour or so before he would regain full feeling in his left arm, but it could have been worse, he mused, glancing over to where Kakashi was still hunched over, clutching at his groin.

The Sandaime sighed audibly. "Itachi? Your sharingan?"

He shook his head negatively. "Ineffective." That had been a surprise, as his opponent's sharingan would normally have to be activated in order to avoid being ensnared in genjutsu, even if they were stronger than he, a rarity in itself. Since Sasuke was seemingly already trapped within genjutsu, it should have been even simpler to affect his mind. That he was unable to penetrate it at all indicated that either the person who cast the genjutsu or Sasuke himself – or possibly even both - were far more proficient than he was.

The Hokage's eyebrows had risen at his answer, and the old man peered contemplatively at Sasuke, who had slumped down against the wall between the two beds, seemingly apathetic to his surroundings now that no one was actively trying to stab him with a needle. A thin trickle of blood had trailed down his wrist, the only obvious sign of their previous attempt.

"Get me Nara Shikaku," Sandaime ordered at length. The first medic brightened immediately at the naming of the shadow-jutsu wielder. The second grumbled and stomped puerilely out of the room, glaring darkly at Sasuke on his way out, and slamming the door behind him.

The old man sighed once more.

"Fi' mo' min'..."

Itachi turned along with everyone else in the room to the source of the unexpected protest. Uzumaki had rolled onto his side while they'd all been preoccupied with Sasuke, but there was no other indication that his condition had altered. Kakashi, who was closest, uncurled himself enough to poke at the young man lying on the hospital bed.

"Oi, Uzumaki?"

"Sensei?" Blue eyes opened blearily. Blinking, the blonde turned his head to peer past Kakashi to the rest of the people in the room, pausing on the remaining medic.

"Amazing!" The man almost gushed as he practically tripped over his own feet to reach Uzumaki's bedside. "Those injuries - the chakra loss - he shouldn't have regained consciousness for days!"

The blonde's face crinkled into a frown as the medic began to check his vitals, but he did not lash out as Sasuke had. Instead, he turned his gaze back towards the Hokage, and blinked twice more.

"Waaah!" The hapless medic was clipped on the chin and sent flying as the blonde suddenly shot up to his feet, standing on the bed waving a bandaged arm at the old man. "Ghost!"

Sandaime's eyebrow twitched. As he strode towards the bed, Uzumaki scuttled backwards, tripping over the sheets in the process. By the time the Hokage reached his side the young man was pressed up against the headboard, blue eyes impossibly wide as he strained away from the old man.

"I'm not dead yet!" Sandaime informed him, rapping the blonde over the head with his knuckles.

"Ow," the blond muttered indignantly as he rubbed at his skull, but Itachi could see puzzlement replace the fear in his expression. "But you did die," he protested. "There was a big funeral and all, right sensei? Ita-" He broke off, his face seemingly frozen mid-syllable.

"I'm not a ghost either," said Itachi, thinking back to the dead Kakashi lying on the ground beneath Sasuke and Uzumaki.

"Itachi," the blond breathed, then frowned again. "But - how old are you?" he demanded, eyes roving up and down Itachi's body in a way that reminded the Uchiha oddly of Sasuke. The younger boy would often stare at him for minutes at a time, that same puzzled frown on his face as he studied every inch of Itachi's body, as though he could learn by observation how to grow up that much faster. Of course, it was likely Itachi's comparative youth that was puzzling Uzumaki now.

"Twelve," Itachi answered, after flicking his eyes across to Sandaime and receiving a brief nod.

"Twelve?" Uzumaki echoed incredulously. "That's impossible! I mean, I'm almost seventeen, and Sasuke - " he broke off again, his expression suddenly going completely blank. "Where's Sasuke?" he asked softly, his tone completely serious for the first time.

Itachi barely had a chance to move his eyeballs in the appropriate direction before the blonde ninja was down on the floor peering intently into Sasuke's dull eyes, ripping his own IV line out carelessly when it didn't give him enough leeway, much to the medic's dismay.

"How is he?"

"He lost a lot of blood from the stab wound below his clavicle, but fortunately his lung wasn't damaged," the medic answered, all the while staying safely out of arm's reach. It seemed he was finally starting to learn from his repeated altercations with these patients. "Although he's fighting the effects, his body is in shock, and we've been trying to replace his fluids, but..." He gestured at the trail of blood on Sasuke's left arm, now matched by Uzumaki's.

"If he doesn't want it, you're not going to get a needle in him, let alone keep it in him," Uzumaki snorted lightly, eyes still locked on Sasuke's. "Bastard always gets his way."

"Does he have to have an IV line?" Kakashi interjected. "If he can fight like that, he should be able to eat, right?"

"Oh," the medic blinked. "Um, I guess we could try that. If he ate properly, we could stimulate his body into replacing the blood..." He started towards the door only to stop, turn around and stare at the source of the extraordinarily loud grumbling.

"Eh," Uzumaki rubbed the back of his head, glancing around at everyone sheepishly. The medic just smiled in amusement.

"I'll bring something for you, too," he promised, and left the room.

"Uzumaki."

The blond turned to look at Itachi, his expression unexpectedly wary. "What?"

"What happened?" He left 'to Sasuke' unspoken, but the blond seemed to pick up on it anyway. Uzumaki bit his lip and turned back to the semi-conscious Sasuke for a moment, seemingly indecisive, before turning to Kakashi.

"Didn't Kakashi-sensei tell - " He stopped, eyes widening, wordlessly asking the question.

"Your sensei didn't make it," Sandaime told him gently, but irrefutably.

"Ah." Turning back to Sasuke hid his face from them, but Itachi could easily see the tension in his muscles as the blond head bowed slightly in grief. They remained in silence for a minute, but there were still too many questions requiring answers to allow for proper mourning now.

"Naruto, do you know how you came to be here?" Sandaime queried. After a moment, Uzumaki nodded his head slowly.

"I have a good idea." He paused, then continued. "I don't know that I should tell you, though."

"That's understandable," Sandaime waved off the apologetic undertones. "We don't have to go into details just yet. However, there are some answers I do need to hear right now."

Uzumaki nodded again. "If I can."

"Can you return the way you came?"

After a brief hesitation that Itachi was certain was emotionally based, Uzumaki shook his head in denial.

"Can anyone else come here?"

Again, a wordless negative response.

"Is there anyone else besides Kakashi and Sasuke who might have come with you?"

"There shouldn't be."

"And if there was?" Kakashi pressed. Itachi recalled the trail leading away from the training ground. Pakkun had yet to return with his report, which meant he was either still following whoever it was, or had been unavoidably detained.

Uzumaki turned to look at them with fierce eyes. "If there was anyone else," he answered, "then they wouldn't be friends."

* * *

It was well after midnight when Itachi finally returned home. The Hokage had dismissed him along with Kakashi following the arrival of Nara Shikaku, who had taken over guard duty for the displaced pair. That had only followed what had been an intriguing display of tactics by Uzumaki as he proceeded to not only shovel his own food into his mouth but simultaneously badger Sasuke into swallowing his pills and drinking his soup as well. It had been hard going at first, but once the initial movements had been made, Sasuke obeyed mechanically. Although as Uzumaki had pointed out, Sasuke probably would have eaten a shuriken if they'd placed one in his bowl, for all the attention he was paying to his food. Itachi had refrained from testing that theory, but he was curious all the same. 

He moved quickly but quietly through the dimly lit hallway, but still not fast enough. He paused as a doorway opened, then closed again behind his father.

"Itachi. You're late."

"Ah," he acknowledged. "There was a complication." He didn't mention that it had nothing to do with the mission he'd so recently completed. The existence of the older Sasuke and Uzumaki was privileged information until further notice. Besides which, Itachi did not want his father to see Sasuke as he was. He simply would not understand what he was seeing.

"The mission?"

"The mission was a success."

Fugaku looked at him stonily. "Good."

They stared at each other in silence for a minute before another door slid open further along the corridor.

"Brother?" Sasuke stood in the doorway to his room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You're home?"

Itachi moved past his father to where Sasuke stood, collecting the younger boy into his arms in one swift movement.

"Brother?" Sasuke queried as he wrapped his legs around Itachi's waist, blinking curiously as he settled into his brother's arms.

"What does it look like?" Itachi asked lightly in return, keeping his eyes fixed on Sasuke's.

Eyes were supposed to be the windows of the soul according to the poets, but by themselves they were usually simply globules of liquid. He could pluck them from his little brother's head right now, and they would match with those of the older Sasuke, he was certain. No, what made the difference were the subtle muscle movements that kept not just Sasuke's eyes but his entire face a dynamic expression of emotion.

"Sasuke. You're keeping your brother from his rest."

Movement was the key. With it, his little brother was an open book before him, whereas his father was as uncommunicative as a blank page; unless...

He observed the slight but sharp intake of breath; the marginal widening of his eyes, the faint twitch of his hand towards his kunai –

"Brother?"

He looked back at Sasuke, who had wrinkled his face in dismay.

"It's fine, brother."

"Your eyes..."

He cast a final glance at their father, who returned the gaze stoically, sharingan activated in response to Itachi's.

"It's fine, little brother," he repeated. "It is past time you were in bed, though." He carried Sasuke into his room, closing the door behind them without another backward glance.

"I was in bed," Sasuke informed him forthrightly. "But I heard you come in, and I wanted to see you."

"And so you have." He lowered Sasuke gently onto his bed and reached to draw the covers over him, only to pull up short as the younger boy clung resolutely to his neck. Succumbing, he let Sasuke pull him down until the ends of his hair tickled at the boy's cheeks. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I wanted to see you, too."

Even in the faint moonlight filtering in through the window, Sasuke's smile was enough to light up the room. Brushing back a stray lock of hair, Itachi kissed his forehead briefly. Small arms hugged him fiercely for a brief moment, then released him. He stood back for a moment, watching his brother settle himself beneath the covers before making a decision.

"Move over," he ordered, and began methodically stripping off his gear. Sasuke obeyed with alacrity, and soon they were both ensconced beneath the blankets.

"Good night, brother."

"G'night."

Itachi lay awake for several more hours, simply watching his brother in sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Discovering Home - 2

By Rhionae

* * *

Naruto was slowly going insane. 

It had been almost a week since he had first woke up to find the world had turned upside down. He was stuck ten years in the past, with no way back, and no idea what to do with himself. It didn't help that his main companion was a Sasuke who seemed to be the living epitome of the saying 'the lights are on, but nobody's home'.

No, Sasuke was still in there somewhere, he knew. He was just enjoying making Naruto's life miserable, as usual. Sooner or later the bastard would wake up and smirk at him, and...

To be honest, he had no idea what Sasuke would do. He had always imagined that he would be able to drag Sasuke back to Konoha once Itachi was dead. He hadn't bargained on Kakashi dragging them into the past and then dying on them. To be fair, he knew that wasn't what their sensei had intended. Really, it was only thanks to his intervention that they had survived at all. Deidara had pretty much sealed them into that cave before collapsing it in on them; there was no way they could have made it out any other way, injured as they had been. In fact, it was probably partially Naruto's fault. Kakashi had asked for chakra, true, but Naruto had probably overdone things a bit.

"You could have saved some for yourself, you know," he murmured. "Then we might not be in this mess now."

Brushing moisture away from his eyes, he shook his head of the thought. Kakashi wasn't one to hold back when people he cared about were in danger.

"I'll protect you with my life," he'd promised on that mission to Wave Country, four years ago. Naruto had never wanted to see the end of that promise, but nor was he going to waste the precious gift his sensei had bestowed upon them.

"And neither are you," he informed Sasuke, who only continued to stare at the wall blankly. Leaving his chair by the window, he moved to Sasuke's side, seating himself on the edge of the bed so that he could place himself in the other boy's line of sight. "You're going to have to wake up sooner or later, bastard. And when you do, I'm not going to let you walk away again." He snorted softly. "Not that you have anywhere else to go, either."

A knock on the door warned him a second before it was opened.

"Itachi," he greeted the boy neutrally as he nodded, surveyed the room briefly then stood aside to let Sandaime into the room, closing the door behind him. Naruto was somewhat relieved that he didn't stay, even though he could probably hear everything anyway from his post outside the door. "Old man."

"How are you feeling today, Naruto?" Sandaime asked as he settled himself on Naruto's bed, facing him.

"Like I want to get out of here," he replied, as he had every other time the Hokage had asked. "I'm all healed up. The bastard's fine physically, and he's probably more sociable like this anyway. So, any chance we could get new rooms in a place that doesn't smell like antiseptic and has ramen on the menu?"

"Actually, I have had rooms prepared for you," Sandaime informed him with a weary smile.

"Really?!"

"However," the old man continued, "there are a couple of things we need to discuss first."

Naruto sighed. He'd known there was going to be a catch. He always felt uncomfortable when the old man wanted to talk, never knowing how much he should be saying, or how much he should keep unsaid. There were plenty of things he wanted to change about his past, but did that give him the right to try and make a difference here? Hell just being here breathing the same air could have changed things for all he knew. He'd tried to be discreet in their conversations, but he was sure the old man was picking up much more than he intended. Whether or not that was a good thing he couldn't tell; he could only hope that it worked out for the best in the end.

"Okay," he said, having mentally braced himself. "Go ahead."

"How do you want to live your life?"

He blinked. That wasn't a question he had been expecting. "Huh?"

"There is already an Uzumaki Naruto here in Konoha. He's seven years old, and goes to the Academy. Uchiha Sasuke is a classmate of his, and goes home every night to his parents and older brother. You," he gestured at both of them with his hand, "are no longer that Naruto and Sasuke. So I must ask you: who are you to Konoha, and how do you want to life your life?"

For a sickeningly long moment Naruto had felt more alone than he had ever been in his life. He didn't belong here. He wasn't just unwanted this time, he truly did not belong. He almost threw up until he realised the Hokage was watching him with solemn eyes, waiting to hear his answer. He took a deep breath.

"And if I still wanted to be me? If I still wanted to be sixteen year old Naruto? What would you do, old man?"

"Remind you that it was your choice when idiots who want to know the future hassle you day and night."

Naruto blinked, grinned lopsidedly and rubbed at his chin. "Heh. Hadn't thought of that." Sighing, he glanced over at Sasuke. What would the bastard want to do? Shaking his head, he turned back to the Hokage. "I don't think I can give you a full answer until sleeping beauty here wakes up, 'cause this will affect him too, right?"

Sandaime nodded in agreement. "I have sent a request to someone who should be able to help. I believe you know her." He indicated the necklace that hung around Naruto's neck.

"The old lady?" He felt himself smiling. "Yeah, she can help for sure. Thanks, old man!"

"She actually lets you get away with calling her that?" Sandaime asked in amusement.

"Eh, well..." Naruto shrugged the question off, his expression turning earnest. "There's one thing I can definitely tell you right now, Hokage-sama. I am a shinobi of Konoha, and I will protect the people of this village with everything I have to give!"

The Hokage met his gaze solemnly. "I believe you," he said, nodding once. "Itachi, Kakashi."

The pair appeared instantly, one through the door, the other through the window, Itachi bearing cloaks and bamboo hats, as well as fresh clothing similar to what they had been wearing when they had arrived. He passed one set to Naruto, who couldn't help but think of Akatsuki as he changed into them. At least the cloaks didn't have red clouds on them, he mused, turning to help Itachi dress Sasuke. The shirt he'd brought for Sasuke had the Uchiha fan on it, Naruto noted. He wondered whose it was, as it would have been somewhat large for the younger Uchiha. Wherever it had come from, he was fairly sure the bastard would approve - as much as he approved of anything, anyway.

"Right! Let's go!" Naruto declared, grabbing Sasuke by the hand and dragging him out of the room. Not that he had any idea of where the old man wanted them to go, but anywhere besides the hospital was good in his opinion.

"Finally!" He drew in a deep breath of fresh air as soon as they'd left the building. He would have liked to feel the sun on his skin as well, but the hat was there for a reason, he supposed. Itachi moved to his side, gesturing subtly. Naruto took the hint and followed the young ninja's directions through Konoha's streets.

It was a good morning, even allowing for Naruto's decidedly biased opinion, with pleasant weather and no real sense of urgency anywhere. There were plenty of people around, which made their passage a little slower than it might otherwise have been as many people paused in their activities to greet the Hokage. Few people spared more than a glance for his companions, which left Naruto with mixed feelings.

For once, he was in the midst of the villagers and not receiving dark looks at every turn. On the other hand, he felt as though they didn't see him at all. If he hadn't been obviously accompanying the Hokage, he might as well have been invisible. He honestly wasn't sure which he disliked more.

The route they were taking passed fairly close to the Academy, and he couldn't help but wonder what his younger counterpart was doing now. The Academy held both good and bad memories for Naruto. Good, because he had found companions at last, even if they didn't truly become friends until much later. As for the bad, well, he'd been called dead last for a reason. No matter how hard he'd tried, there were a lot of things that had just never worked or made sense for him. It hadn't helped that most of the teachers had despised him, of course, but he knew some of it was just him. He'd tried talking to Iruka about it once, but the Chuunin had just looked at him with such a stricken expression that he'd laughed it off as nothing and run like hell. An emotional Iruka was like a force of nature, not something Naruto was eager to be caught up with unnecessarily. Still, he missed his old sensei, and found himself wanting to stop by the Academy just to see him, never mind that he barely knew Naruto at this point in time.

He turned towards the Hokage to ask permission, when he caught sight of someone else in a bamboo hat in the distance. Two people, in fact. His eyes followed them as they wove through the crowd. Sure enough, they were wearing high collared cloaks with red clouds.

Damn.

He didn't bother trying to explain anything to his escorts, simply dropping Sasuke's hand and running, dodging through the villagers as he raced to catch up with the Akatsuki members. What was their purpose? Did it have to do with the unidentified person who had been drawn through time with them? It was a pity Pakkun had lost track of them. There were only three possibilities, really, as everyone else involved in the battle had either escaped before Deidara sealed the cave, or died within it. Deidara himself had been badly injured, but still fighting as he literally pulled the ceiling down on them. Kabuto had been lurking somewhere in the shadows, lingering like a bad odour in the air. Lastly, the Akatsuki member with the orange mask, Tobi, had been making a pest of himself even after Naruto - or Kyuubi, rather - had torn their leader apart. Any one of the three could cause problems on their own, but if they'd already reported to the Akatsuki of this time, then the pair here in Konoha could be after –

He felt his eyes widening as the Academy came into view.

Shit.

He put on an extra burst of speed, hands forming the seals for Kage Bunshin as he ran. In an instant there were dozens of clones rushing towards the Academy building; dimly he noted that he'd lost his hat and cloak somewhere along the way. There was still the flickering shadow of a cloak just a little behind him, though, and he almost tripped as he realised that Sasuke was following him of his own accord. It figured that the bastard would pick the worst possible time to show signs of independence. Or perhaps the best, since Kakashi at least had attested that the bastard was quite capable of fighting even in his mindless state. He could only hope that would include holding his own against Akatsuki, because Naruto himself was going to have his hands full.

Just as the cloaked figures approached the building, a horde of children stormed out through the doors into the playground.

Fuck.

Desperately he searched amongst the children for two in particular: one blond, one dark-haired. For several long seconds he couldn't see either. Suddenly a small blond jumped out of a window, followed quickly by the appearance of an enraged teacher's head.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

For a moment Naruto was torn between shrieking at Iruka for the pointing him out to Akatsuki, or strangling his younger self for whatever idiocy had incited the Chuunin's rage. Fortunately he had much better targets to take his frustration out on, and he slammed a kunai into the nearest Akatsuki even as his clones started collecting children left, right and centre.

"Iruka-sensei!" he yelled, startling the teacher considerably. "Get the kids out of here!"

After half a second spent gaping like a fish, Iruka blasted the children with the evacuation order that would send them running to the academy training grounds. Half of the kids moved to obey, while the other half looked at each other uncertainly.

"I SAID MOVE!"

Iruka was out the window in a flash, herding the children out of the way. Naruto's clones moved to assist, dragging everyone clear of the conflict that was unfolding in the yard. Trading blows with the Akatsuki he'd stabbed, he caught sight of his younger self in the arms of one of his clones, before being whisked out of view. He could only hope the younger Sasuke had also been pulled clear, as he hadn't seen the distinctive tuft of dark hair anywhere. Focussing his attention fully on his opponent for the first time, Naruto recognised at last who he was facing.

"Sasori of the Red Sand," he acknowledged as he dredged his mind for everything Sakura had told him of her fight with the puppet master.

"Uzumaki Naruto," came the dry response. "I see the report was true, to some degree at least."

"Heh, doubting your sources?" He grinned, which quickly turned into a grimace as he narrowly dodged the tail that stabbed towards him, arcing from beneath the long cloak.

"It wasn't a particularly likely scenario, you have to admit. It does present certain opportunities, however." The puppet's left arm shot forward. Naruto's eyes widened in realisation, hands lightning-swift in their movements. Just as the first needles began to shoot from the arm, a swarm of clones piled on top, hiding it from view. After several seconds, all that was left was a circular pile of needles and a cloud of smoke - from which Naruto emerged, clone alongside, to shove a Rasengan down the puppet's throat. The puppet flew backwards through the air, hitting the side of the academy building with a large cracking noise, bits and pieces of it scattering the ground between its landing place and Naruto.

Keeping one eye on Sasori, the blond ninja scanned the area quickly. The children were almost all gone from the playground, only a few left here and there hiding nervously behind trees and bushes. Several of the clones were returning for them, so Naruto let them be, turning instead to the other pair of combatants. His hands clenched into fists as he watched Sasuke dance with Orochimaru, swords engaged in an elaborate thrust and parry that was exquisite enough to be seen as a performance rather than mortal combat. There was only one thing wrong with the picture, in Naruto's opinion: the Snake Sannin was smiling.

"Sasuke!"

The combatants paused momentarily, swords locked. Orochimaru was still smiling, but as Sasuke turned his head slightly Naruto could see that he wasn't the only one. The bastard's usual smirk was back in place - and his eyes were red as blood.

"Brother!"

Naruto whipped back around to face the origin of the cry, even as he felt the rush of someone passing by. Itachi had almost reached the younger Sasuke when a spike flew out of the ruins of Sasori's puppet, thick cable trailing behind as it homed in on the Uchiha brothers.

"Look out!" He launched himself forward, knowing he wasn't going to make it in time but making the attempt regardless. He was brought up short by a rain of kunai striking the cable in quick succession, pinning it to the wall, preventing it from reaching its target. Casting a quick glance at the thrower, he found a masked ANBU with short sword in hand looking down on them from a nearby tree. The cable twitched, snakelike, drawing his focus once again as something moved within the rubble of the broken puppet.

"He uses poison on his puppets, so don't get hit!" Naruto warned the new arrivals as Itachi scooped his little brother up into the safety of his embrace. He didn't keep him there long, however, thrusting him almost immediately into Naruto's arms. The blond didn't know who was more startled - young Sasuke or himself. "Hey!" he protested even as he settled the boy against his side with one arm, but Itachi was already charging the new puppet arising from the wreckage of the old.

The chest of the puppet opened up, strings shooting out in an array around it. Naruto and the ANBU both jumped back out of reach, but Itachi maintained his ground, weaving amongst them until they were a writhing mass filling the air. Eyes narrowed, he reached out and deliberately tangled several threads around his fingers, drawing breath as he brought the strands towards his lips. Fire blazed down the length of the strings, centring in on the puppet's chest and exploding outward again as it engulfed the puppet's torso.

Remembering Sakura's account of her fight, Naruto took advantage of the distraction to fling his clone, transformed into a kunai, into the container embedded in its chest. Two more kunai followed quickly after, striking true, and the puppet slowly collapsed to the ground.

"That was too easy," Naruto muttered, eyeing the burning mass warily. Itachi stepped closer, examining the remnants of his opponent with sharingan eyes.

"The body is changing," he noted dispassionately.

"What?!" Naruto dashed forward only to freeze in place at the look in Itachi's eyes. Right. He'd forgotten about -

The bloodcurdling gasp of a dying man drew his attention back to his Sasuke and his opponent. Orochimaru had been impaled upon Sasuke's lightning sword - only he wasn't Orochimaru anymore.

"Damn it! I should have known..." Shouten no Jutsu. They'd been wasting their time on mere copies. Where were the real Orochimaru and Sasori? They would have to be close by to maintain the jutsu. He started to tell the others just that when he discovered they had another problem. Sasuke's eyes were still red as he advanced towards them. Naruto wasn't worried so much about that, because at least it was a change from the dark, empty eyes he'd had all week. No, the problem was that he was staring with those eyes at Itachi, and he still held his sword in his hand.

Knowing he was asking for it, he stepped between the two anyway, mindful that he still had young Sasuke clinging to his side. The older Sasuke continued to stalk forwards, ignoring Naruto until the blond grabbed him by the shirt, holding him in place. Red eyes met blue.

"He's only twelve. You remember being twelve, don't you?"

The hand with the sword lifted slowly from Sasuke's side. Naruto didn't move a muscle, keeping his gaze locked with that burning red, although he could feel the child Sasuke flinching away. The lightning chakra retracted as the hand continued to rise, so that when it rested on the fabric of Naruto's shirt, it was only mildly warmer than would be expected. They stayed like that for several heartbeats.

"Who are you?"

The sudden, sharp query brought the rest of the world crashing in on them. Naruto looked around to find that the commotion had drawn a fair sized crowd, most of them toting weapons which were currently aimed at them.

The pale hand over his heart dropped away, and the blond found himself peering into dark, dull eyes as Sasuke withdrew into himself once again.

"Bastard," Naruto accused, his eye twitching as he turned to face the crowd of onlookers alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Discovering Home - 3

By Rhionae

* * *

Itachi had been as startled as Kakashi when Uzumaki had suddenly dashed off down the street. What had captured his attention, however, was not the actions of the blond but those of Sasuke. Uzumaki had been holding Sasuke's hand since they'd departed the hospital room, leading him like a child, ensuring that he did not stray from the group as they processed through the town. Sasuke had remained apathetic to his surroundings, the change from isolated hospital room to busy streets not seeming to matter to him at all. Yet the moment Uzumaki had dropped his hand and run, there had been no sign of hesitation at all. Sasuke had been at Uzumaki's heels from the outset, while Itachi simply watched and pondered until it kicked in that he should be following as well.

He'd been able to observe the initial engagement with the two cloaked figures, taking in Uzumaki's headlong gambit as well as the plethora of shadow clones removing the children to safety with one part of his mind, while the majority was fixed on Sasuke and his opponent. Both were armed with kusanagi, which Itachi found especially curious as he knew Sasuke had been unarmed when they'd left the hospital. Uzumaki had requested - and received - basic weaponry, but they had not equipped Sasuke given his current state. A closer inspection revealed the sword to be element based, an interesting achievement considering that Sasuke was wielding it as confidently and precisely as a blade of steel.

"Orochimaru!" Kakashi hissed beside him as a glancing blow sent the bamboo hat flying from Sasuke's opponent's head, revealing the Sannin's face. Itachi's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the infamous missing-nin, who was smiling arrogantly as he swapped sword strikes with Sasuke. His movements were a perfect match for Sasuke's - or possibly Sasuke's for Orochimaru's, as he was uncertain as to which man was truly in control of the fight - making the combat seeming almost rehearsed.

A burst of chakra made them pause just as they reached the playground proper, ducking debris as it scattered the area. Uzumaki had thrust some kind of chakra ball against his opponent, which turned out to be some kind of puppet.

"That - it can't be - "

Beside him, Kakashi was frankly staring, wide-eyed, at Uzumaki. Of more concern to Itachi than this unusual sight was the appearance of Hebi, the ANBU who had been assigned to watch over his little brother since the arrival of his older self. For Hebi to be here meant that the younger Sasuke was still in the area, and had not been evacuated with the other children. Unlike the older Sasuke, the younger was neither capable of participating meaningfully in this level of combat, nor able to recognise when he should stay out of it.

"Sasuke!"

For a moment Itachi believed Uzumaki meant the younger version, but his eyes were fixed on the one engaged with Orochimaru. Looking past Uzumaki towards the Academy's main entrance, he found his little brother peering cautiously around the door, his dark eyes lighting up as they focused on Itachi - who began to run.

"Brother!"

It was truly a wonder, he mused as he sprinted towards the boy, that the foolish child before him could become the shinobi who was holding his own with the Sannin Orochimaru just metres behind him. The potential had always been there, he knew, with their shared blood and circumstance. Yet Sasuke had never succeeded in activating that potential, not in the same way Itachi had. The difference between them had only grown over the years, despite how Sasuke had tried to close it. Something had changed, though, for the Sasuke that had come back through time. Itachi fully intended to find out what that was, so that the child before him could also reach such heights of achievement - or possibly even higher.

Uzumaki shouted a warning, and Itachi caught a flicker of movement behind him. There was not enough time to reposition himself without endangering Sasuke, however, so he continued onwards, leaving the task of countering the attack to one of the others. Sure enough, the sound of metal on metal and rock was heard and repeated before he had even reached Sasuke.

The blond ninja gave another warning about the puppet and poison just as Itachi picked his little brother up. He had no intention of staying burdened in such a manner, however, so passed him quickly to one of the two Uzumaki, who despite his protest held the child protectively against himself. Relieved of his obligation, he was free to attack, and made quick work of the puppet with his fire jutsu. Too quick, it appeared, as the body began to change shape beneath the flames.

He observed the changes curiously, as he had not seen such a complete transformation jutsu before that could even mimic a puppet body. It seemed Uzumaki had, though, and Itachi mentally added it to the list of questions he needed answered. There was no point in attempting to reclaim the corpse from the fire at this point, though, and in any case, Sasuke had provided them with another who had been under the same jutsu.

The fight appeared to have woken Sasuke from his apathetic state, and he approached with sharingan activated, the three tomoe in each eye mere confirmation of ability Itachi had already witnessed in action. The burning intensity of the gaze, however, was not something he had ever experienced from his little brother.

He blinked as Uzumaki stepped between them, speaking in tones low enough that Itachi could not make out the words. The older Sasuke lifted his hand, as though to push Uzumaki aside, while the younger leaned back with wide eyes.

It was a curious tableau, but one that would not last long. The skirmish had drawn a crowd of ninja, including several from Konoha's Police Corps. Itachi could see his father, along with some of his cousins, eyeing the uchiwa on the back of Sasuke's shirt, and waited for the expected outcry.

"Who are you?" Fugaku demanded. Uzumaki's head whipped around, taking in the crowd surrounding them. Itachi moved forward to stand by the pair, feeling a curious disappointment as he noticed Sasuke's sharingan fade away, leaving only the empty eyes he'd possessed in the hospital once again.

"Only Uchiha wear that symbol in this town!" his cousin Inabi declared loudly, backed up by Tekka as usual. Itachi resisted the urge to glare at them. He had known they would react this way, after all. Their main focus was the clan, despite the fact that they'd just witnessed mortal combat in the Academy playground.

"He is an Uchiha!" Uzumaki proclaimed on his companion's behalf. "Uchiha Sasuke!"

"That's my name!" was young Sasuke's immediate protest. Uzumaki blinked at him, apparently having forgotten he was still carrying the boy. "He can't have my name!"

"Eh, well, you can be Sasuke still, and we'll just call him 'Bastard'. How about that?"

"That's rude!" Sasuke informed him indignantly, his young face scrunching into a scowl. Uzumaki scowled back.

"My son is the only living Uchiha bearing the name 'Sasuke'," Fugaku stated as he moved towards them, frowning.

"And now you have two," Sandaime interrupted striding forward from amidst the crowd.

"Hokage-sama - "

The old man waved him silent, shooting a penetrating look at Uzumaki, who responded with a short nod.

"One week ago," the Hokage spoke in tones loud enough for all the crowd to hear, "two of our ANBU discovered some of our ninja who had been caught up in an incorrectly formed jutsu. That jutsu carried them through time itself." Incredulous murmurs arose in response to that statement. "_They are unable to return_ to their own time," the old man almost bellowed his emphasis, quieting the whisperers. "And so I have welcomed them here, because they are indeed Konoha shinobi. Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto."

The crowd responded with mutterings far harsher than before. Itachi, who had been watching Uzumaki, was curious as to why he'd flinched slightly when the Hokage had named them as Konoha shinobi. The fear-laced vocalisations presented him with one likely possibility.

_"Monster..."_

_"Demon..."_

_"Isn't it bad enough having one in the village, let alone..."_

Itachi continued to observe Uzumaki from the corner of his eye, noting his free hand clenching harder into a fist with every word uttered - until Sasuke squirmed in his arms.

"Sorry," the blond murmured softly, visibly forcing his body to relax.

"It's okay," Sasuke told him, eyes glancing worriedly at the increasingly angry crowd.

"ENOUGH!" Silence fell in wake of the Hokage's shout. "Both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are valued members of our community. They will both be accorded with the same respect that would be given to any other ninja in this village. They will not be subjected to questioning regarding their previous experiences without prior approval from me. _Am I making myself clear?!_"

There was a swift affirmative response.

"Then I suggest you all carry on with your duties! Take those bodies back for investigation, and go _check on the children!_"

There were several startled looks before the crowd dispersed in a flurry of activity.

"Fugaku, if you would accompany us."

He nodded solemnly, still eyeing the older Sasuke with suspicion, Itachi noted.

"Um," Uzumaki quirked an eyebrow at the boy in his arms. Sasuke squinted back at him.

"Hebi will take young Sasuke home," Sandaime said. The ANBU appeared instantly at the mention of her name.

"But where are you going?" Sasuke wanted to know, looking across at his older self curiously.

"I'm taking Naruto and the older Sasuke to the place where they will be living," Sandaime informed him with a small smile.

"If he's me, shouldn't he be coming home?" Sasuke frowned, pointing at the other Sasuke.

"With respect, Hokage-sama, Sasuke is correct. My son has a home, with his family."

Itachi decided then and there that Uzumaki was the most emotional ninja he'd ever encountered. He was even more expressive than Sasuke, who was the most open person Itachi had previously known. Joy, sorrow, wistfulness, loneliness; the emotions were simply there, throwing themselves out for the world to see, and then -

"That's a great idea!" Uzumaki declared with a brilliant grin on his face. "I know he'd like that!"

It was almost as good as an ANBU mask, concealing everything beneath its artificial surface. Effectively it was even better at hiding emotion. Everyone knew that the ANBU masks were just that, masks. The false smile, however, could only be seen as one by those who truly looked.

Fugaku was frowning at the older Sasuke, who remained as impassive as ever.

"Sasuke is still recovering from the battle they were involved in prior to arriving here," the Hokage informed him. "I would prefer that he and Naruto stay together for the time being."

The furrow between Fugaku's eyebrows deepened as his gaze switched between Uzumaki, the older Sasuke and Sandaime. "We have room for them both," he stated after several moments. Uzumaki blinked at him in astonishment.

"I had been going to place them near young Naruto," Sandaime replied blandly.

Itachi watched young Sasuke as he watched their father, fascinated by Fugaku's twitching eye. Itachi himself was equally interested, as this was the most emotion anyone else had evoked from his father in a long time.

"We have room for them all," Fugaku ground out the amendment grudgingly. Sandaime smirked.

"Excellent. Itachi will liase between you and the ANBU watching over them."

There wasn't much else Fugaku could do at that point but agree.

* * *

The muted sounds of laughter seemed a world away from the sombre silence weighing heavily upon the impromptu meeting. His mother had taken the arrival of their unexpected and highly unusual guests with aplomb that could only have been the result of being married to Uchiha Fugaku for fourteen long years. The younger Sasuke and Naruto, along with one of the older Uzumaki's shadow clones who had lingered after the battle, had quickly been roped into helping her clean the guest room – which Itachi noted had been clean when they had started, but given the amount of noise they were making he was sure that wouldn't have lasted long.

"Excuse me," Iruka apologised from the open doorway. "Mikoto-san said you were expecting me."

"Indeed," Sandaime acknowledged, gesturing to the empty space between Kakashi and Sasuke. Iruka moved to take the assigned place, sliding the door shut behind him, cutting off the cheerful laughter of the children. Itachi took note of the quick glances the Chuunin cast towards Sasuke and Uzumaki: concern warring with curiosity for dominance. It was a stark contrast to Fugaku's gaze, fixed upon the Hokage for the most part, with only the barest occasional hint of a frown in Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke himself was demonstrating the perfect indifference to which their father seemingly aspired. His eyes retained the abstracted stare that he had presented in the hospital, yet there was something about his posture that suggested an awareness that had previously been absent. No one else had remarked upon the slight change, however, and Itachi was content to wait and observe.

"All students and staff have been accounted for," Iruka reported. "There were a few minor injuries, but none resulting from direct assault. The warning provided by Na- Uzumaki-san enabled staff to enact contingency plans swiftly. This was hampered by the timing of the attack as the students had just been dismissed for recess, lack of staff immediately on hand, and slow response from a large number of students. This will be addressed in a review of procedures as soon as possible. Structural damage was minimal, and classes will resume as normal tomorrow, barring any restrictions imposed by Police or ANBU investigations." He paused for a moment, darting another glance at Sasuke and Uzumaki before continuing. "Hokage-sama, if the target of this attack – "

"Young Sasuke and Naruto will remain here in the Uchiha compound under ANBU guard until further notice," Sandaime informed him. "As will their older counterparts. Hebi and Neko will continue as guards for the younger pair, while Itachi and Kakashi will stay with this Sasuke and Naruto."

While Uzumaki grumbled half-heartedly across from him, Itachi watched as the muscles in Fugaku's neck tightened marginally, revealing his discontent. Kakashi pretended obliviousness, but the faint narrowing of his uncovered eye was enough for Itachi. He wondered briefly whether it was that Kakashi even possessed a sharingan eye that upset his father so much, or that he was able to use it far more effectively that Obito ever had. The sharingan alone was not enough to make a top-class shinobi - and even Jounin had moments where they lapsed short of expectations.

"I have concerns regarding the choice of personnel for this mission, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi's eye twitched. Fugaku frowned. Sandaime merely raised an eyebrow at him as he puffed away on his pipe.

"Your concerns are understood," was the only answer given, unsatisfactory though it was. "The mission stands."

Itachi nodded his acquiescence, knowing that Kakashi would drag him off again for another 'talk' as soon as they both had a moment to spare. Yet the ANBU Captain couldn't deny that the hesitancy displayed earlier was an issue that they could not afford to have repeated, no matter the identity of their opponents - nor the techniques used by those they were supposed to defend.

It had taken some thought before he recalled that the technique Uzumaki had used against the puppet-user had been one of Yondaime's own. That, added in with the close likeness in appearance, explained why Kakashi had frozen as though he'd seen the dead rise form the grave. Hebi and Neko's reactions to seeing Orochimaru were also understandable: former sensei of one, abductor and abuser of the other. Understandable, yet unacceptable if they were to effectively undertake this mission.

Shinobi must never show emotion. His father's favourite rule. This was the reason for its existence. Emotion led to carelessness, carelessness led to mistakes, and mistakes were often fatal where ninja were concerned. Especially when facing such high level opponents.

Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand were both well known as S-class missing-nin, as listed in Konoha's Bingo Book, as were Hidan and Kakuzu. Hoshigaki Kisame, a rising star of the Mist, was also a name known to him. Deidara of the Rock he was not familiar with, but by Uzumaki's account, his skill was not to be taken lightly. As it stood, they were a formidable group - and there were at least three more members for whom Uzumaki could not supply any significant information, including the leader.

Itachi held no false modesty - he was fully prepared to take on any of the Akatsuki. Even taking into consideration that he'd confronted a mere portion of Sasori's true strength at the Academy, he had faith in his own strength and skills. He was not so confident in the rest of his team's abilities. They had only been together for one short mission, and that - while successful - had not proceeded as smoothly as it should have.

Kakashi was a superb shinobi, there was no question of that. So was Hebi, for all her impetuousness and propensity towards bloodthirstiness. Neko had also displayed proficiency that was more than adequate in most circumstances. Yet Itachi found himself reluctant to entrust his little brother's safety to anyone else, especially after the day's events. Nor did he want to relinquish his role watching over the older Sasuke. There were ways around the restrictions of the mission, however. What was not so clear in his mind was who would take priority in his mind should they be attacked once again: the Sasuke who had realised his potential, or the one who simply showed promise?

He pondered over the question as his mother brought an end to the meeting by informing them with a smile that there was food available if they were hungry. The Hokage declined politely, citing work waiting for him in his office - most of which would be more reports following the earlier attack. Iruka started to make his excuses only to have Uzumaki latch onto his arm and drag him along behind Mikoto, Sasuke following in their wake in a far more dignified manner, with Fugaku taking up the rear. Kakashi lingered for a moment, gazing at Itachi soberly before shrugging and following the rest of the group.

Itachi waited.

"So that's why you wanted my shirt."

He shrugged. "Mine would have been too small."

Laughter. "You're growing up fast, too, you know."

Itachi stared at him blankly.

"Oh, don't try that with me. I know you better."

He snorted, acknowledging that truth.

"So, what's the future going to be like for us?"

"The Hokage ordered that they should not be questioned regarding the future."

"I'm not asking them, I'm asking you."

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

"Bah, you're useless as a friend. What if you knew I was going to die tomorrow? Would you tell me then?"

"No."

"Cruel."

"I'd save you."

"Oh, so that's it - you just want to play the hero!"

He snorted. "I'm a ninja, not a hero. It's different, anyway."

"What's different?"

"Their past, our future. The assault at the Academy today didn't happen in their time."

"Well, now _that's _interesting."

Itachi shrugged. "They're a possibility, that's all. It changes nothing. The future is still uncertain for us."

"So we make our own."

Itachi nodded, then cocked his head as his mother called his name from the kitchen.

"You'd better go. Growing shinobi need good food, after all."

He was gone before Itachi could respond.


End file.
